After Bad Wolf Bay
by kittyxfantastico
Summary: Starting right after the events of Journey's End, when the 10th Doctor leaves Rose and his duplicate on Bad Wolf Bay in the parallel dimension. Will Rose be able to accept this not-quite-but-almost-Doctor? What will their lives look like without the TARDIS? Adventure, romance, friendship, drama and fun ensue.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Doctor," Rose murmured, tears still streaming down her face. The TARDIS was gone forever, and with it the love of her life. The _other one _placed his hand on her shoulder and she flinched involuntarily. He drew back, hurt showing in his eyes.

She felt guilty. He had told her the one thing she had wanted so desperately to hear, the one thing the doctor could never say to her. So she had kissed him, this man who wore her Doctor's face. But he wasn't him. He wasn't her Doctor. Rose would never see her doctor again.

"Rose?" Jackie called. "Come on Rose, we've got to call your father. A fine thing for him to go and leave us here, middle of bloody nowhere," she said, gesturing to the place the Doctor had been standing. "It's freezing in this wind, it is." Rose had to smile through her tears. Leave it to Jackie to travel to parallel dimensions, face the dalek empire, help save the universe and then complain about something like the weather. Jackie was already on her mobile, ordering Pete Tyler to send someone to fetch them.

"I'm sorry," _he _said, while Jackie argued with Pete on the phone. Rose looked at him, seeing a profound sadness in his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry. I lost something too you know." Rose searched his face, confused, then, "the TARDIS," she said in an instant of realisation. "Yep," he said, his 'p' popping emphatically. "All of time and space, traveling, my whole life..." He gazed into the space the TARDIS had occupied only moments before. "Still, I've got you Rose Tyler. Never thought I'd get to travel with you again," he grinned. "Stop it. Please stop it. I know you have his memories, but you're not him. We've never even met before today." She couldn't look at him, look at that face. "I know it's not your fault," she added softly.

"Well, it looks like your father won't be able to have a helicopter here 'till the morning," Jackie interrupted, oblivious to the tension between them. The other Doctor's eyes lit up. "Ooh, we'll have to build shelter, or maybe we can find a cave – love caves – and I can build a fire. Blimey, I haven't had to go hand's on, without the sonic, in ages. It's exciting." Rose and Jackie stared at him. "Or we could just go into town?" Rose suggested. "No blooming way I'm staying out here. Pete's already booked us a hotel. Sending a car too, we only have to walk up to the road," Jackie informed them with an air of superiority. "Oh. Yes, well, I suppose so," the other Doctor conceded, looking a little disappointed.

The walk was cold and windy, but Rose hardly noticed it. She had come so far, crossed universes to be with the Doctor again. How could he just leave her here? The other Doctor was chatting away rapidly and without pause to Rose's mum in that way he always did. It seemed like no matter what he was feeling he could fill up the space with words.

"Money! I'm going to need money. That means a job. Haven't had one of those in a good long while." "Don't worry Doctor, we'll set you up at Torchwood. With everything you've done I'm sure Pete would be glad to have you on the team," Jackie said kindly. "Now that would be a funny thing, me, working at Torchwood." He smiled his cheerful grin. "It's not like it was back home, they do real good here," Rose cut in. "I knew they had to be doing right with you here to keep 'em in line." She smiled back at him, tentatively and briefly.

They didn't have to wait long once they'd reached the road. A car pulled up, driven by an older man wearing a flat cap. They climbed in, and the driver said something in Norwegian. Jackie looked at Rose blankly, who looked to the other Doctor. "Huh. Weird not having the TARDIS to translate for me.. Oh yes, he wants to know where he's taking us." "Oh, what did Pete say?" Jackie fretted. The other Doctor looked at her a little incredulously. "Oh yes, I remember. The Clarion Collection." The driver nodded and took off. "Been a long time since we were in Bergen," Jackie said conversationally. "Two years," Rose replied numbly. Was this better or worse than the last time? She wasn't sure. She stared out the window feeling hollow inside.

The hotel was posh. The kind of place Rose and here mother never would have been able to afford back in their old lives. Pete loved to spend his money on them. Even after all this time Rose still wasn't used to it. Jackie checked them in. "Here are your key cards. We've got two rooms, side by side, Rose is with me though. Don't you two go getting any ideas." "Mum," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "I saw that kiss on the beach, don't think I don't know what it means." Rose just shook her head, studiously avoiding looking at him.

They took the lift up to their floor and down the hall to their rooms. "This is it," Jackie informed them. "Well, goodnight ladies," _he _said jauntily, and ducked into his room. Once Jackie and Rose were in their room alone, Rose sat down and looked out the window. She started to cry again. "What's wrong sweetheart?" Jackie asked, her voice full of concern. "He's gone. The Doctor is gone, and I'm really never going to see him again," she choked out. "What do you mean? He's in the next room. He's with you now." "That's _not_ my Doctor. He's not the same. You wouldn't understand." Jackie raised her eyebrows. "I learned to love Pete," she said frankly. "I'm sorry mum, I didn't even think," Rose apologized, her cheeks reddening slightly. "I know. But let me tell you, it wasn't always easy for us. He wasn't my Pete, wasn't your father. But I love him now. That man in the next room, he remembers being with you, traveling. He might not be your Doctor, but you _are _his Rose. It's a gift." Rose looked at her mother, a little stunned by this bit of wisdom. "You're right. I'm going to try."

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_This is my first fan fic, so go easy on me! Seriously though, let me know what you think by leaving a review please, I'd really appreciate it._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

It was barely light out when Rose woke up to the sound of someone stumbling about in the next room and talking to themselves. She groaned and covered her head with a pillow. The Doctor always was an early riser. The noise didn't stop – although Jackie slept right through it – and Rose decided to go see what the fuss was all about.

She knocked hesitantly on his door. "Doctor? Or, erm, whatever I call you..." The door swung open. "Rose Tyler!" he announced. Rose bit her lip to keep from laughing. There stood the other Doctor wearing nothing but violent orange swimming trunks and blue goggles. "Did you know they have a swimming pool?" He grinned and lifted the goggles to his forehead. "Come on!" Rose laughed. "I can't." "What? Why not?" "What, do you think I travel through time and space with a bathing suit in my pocket?" The other Doctor ran his hand through his hair. "Oh I completely forgot! No, wait, I didn't." He ducked behind the door and produced a two piece, thankfully black with white polka dots **not **orange. Rose rocked back and forth on her heels, ambivalent. She looked up at his eager, smiling face. "Okay." "Yeah?" "Yeah, alright." "Yes! Allons-y!"

The pool deck was empty as Rose crept out of the change room. "Ah!" Rose gave a short scream as the other Doctor popped up from underwater right at her feet. He waggled his fingers on the hand that had created him. "Hello," he said cheerfully. "Hi," she said, still feeling strangely shy with this man who remembered the most important moments of her life. She felt his eyes on her and it made her even more nervous, so she jumped. A wave of water flew out, splashing the other Doctor. "Ha!" he laughed and sent a second wave of water splashing her way. She laughed and swam away while he chased after her. They swam a few laps, splashing and playing whenever they got near each other. It felt easy, and good.

After a particularly spectacular kicking splash from Rose, the other Doctor gave up. "Truce! Truce," he called. Rose stood up, laughing freely. "Alright." He swam close to her and stood up, facing her. She looked down, her glee turning to shyness instantly. He gently pushed her chin up with one finger. "Hey." His face was inches from hers and he looked into her eyes, dead serious. She knew what he wanted, but... She turned her head away. "I can't," she said in hardly a whisper. He nodded and took a step back automatically. "You know we really should have made better use of the pool when we were traveling," he told her. "No way! The TARDIS has a pool?" "Yep." She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "I can't believe you never told me that." "There were so many things I would have told you if we'd had the time." "Now we do," Rose said lightly, examining her hands intently. She could feel him looking at her again. "Anyways, we should probably get back, we'll be leaving soon." "Yeah."

Alone in the change room, Rose let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Why was this so hard? He hadn't changed a bit, she shouldn't feel so anxious around him... and at the same time how could it be so easy? For a moment while they had laughed and played she almost could have forgotten that he wasn't the real thing. It felt too much like betrayal. Her Doctor was still out there somewhere, without her.

The other Doctor had apparently neglected to bring dry clothes Rose noted as they rode the lift together, his swimming trunks still dripping a little beneath his towel. She giggled and he just smiled his big, goofy smile.

"Where were you?" Jackie asked, sounding exactly like she had when Rose was fourteen and used to break curfew. "Nowhere mum, just swimming," she said, annoyed at herself for sounding like a petulant teenager. "Well you could have left a note. Here I was thinking you two had run off together again." "I'm sorry mum, it won't happen again," she said dutifully. "Anyways your father is going to be here in twenty minutes. You get that Doctor of yours and meet me on the roof." Rose raised an eyebrow. "You know Pete, he's always got to be flash," Jackie said with a mix of exasperation and love.

After wringing out her new bathing suit and putting it carefully into a plastic bag, Rose went out into the hallway and knocked on _his_ door. "Just a minute," came a muffled voice. An instant later he popped out. "Do I smell? I don't smell do I? Yesterday's clothes. Mind you, you too. Still, got to get some new suits. The other me made off with all my best ones. Anyways, you were knocking, why were you knocking? What's up?" Rose couldn't help but smile. "Time to go," she informed him. "Right! Lead the way Miss Tyler."

They took the stairs at a run, for no particular reason except that they wanted to, and arrived on the roof to find Jackie chatting up an anxious looking hotel attendant. "This is very irregular," he said as they walked up. "Love the accent," Jackie said with a girlish smile. "We don't normally allow guests on the roof. I don't know how you got permission," he continued on unabated. "We're Torchwood," Jackie said simply. Whatever the attendant said next was drowned out by the sound of helicopter blades. The wind whipped Roses hair into her face. Pete climbed out and ran to Jackie, embracing her. He gestured for them to get on board. "Where's Mickey?" he shouted over the noise. "Didn't she tell you?" Rose shouted back. "He made it out okay, but he decided to stay on the other side." Pete nodded and they all ducked into the helicopter. It took off, leaving a confused hotel attendant standing alone on the roof.

"This is fantastic!" the other Doctor mouthed to Rose eagerly, watching the gorgeous scenery stretch out beneath them. Her heart racing, Rose reached out towards him, and took his hand.

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_I've got a long term story planned out if there is interest in seeing the story continue. I hope I'm able to keep the voices of the characters and remain true to the show. Let me know what you think, good or bad, in the reviews!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"This is us," Rose said nervously as they arrived at the Tyler mansion. "Oh! You've redecorated – well, I suppose you had to, cybermen attack and all. I don't like it," the other Doctor whispered to Rose. "Neither do I," she admitted, "but mum loves it." "Beautiful home, Jackie, Pete," he announced loudly to the Tylers, who were up ahead deep in conversation. "Oh, yes, thanks," Pete said distractedly. "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping," Rose said, taking his hand and leading him upstairs.

As they turned down the hallway at the top of the stairs, they almost ran straight into a woman carrying a small boy. "Oh hello Tabitha, and you Tony." "Welcome home Miss Tyler. I'm just taking Tony to see his mum." "This is Tabitha, our nanny, and Tony, my brother," Rose told the other Doctor. "Hello, I'm the Doctor," he said, waving. "Hi," Tony replied in a small voice. Tabitha just nodded, and led Tony down the stairs. "Great. I've been domesticated. I suppose it can't be helped. So what's it like having a brother?" Rose couldn't help but think that this Doctor was a little rude. He reminded her of her first Doctor that way, before he changed his face. "I'm not really sure. I hardly know him," Rose confessed. "Hmm? Why's that then?" "Well, I've spent the last two years looking for you." "That's a bit stupid. What if you'd never found me? Which you shouldn't have been able to by the way," the other Doctor pointed out. "Well I did, didn't I? Besides, I had to try," Rose said defensively. "'Course you did. That's why I love humans. Don't care if something's impossible, that's not going to stop you. Mad, the lot of ya." Rose wasn't sure whether she should take that as an insult or a compliment.

"This is your room. Only temporary of course, until you figure out what you want to do." "Of course." "It's right next to mine," Rose added. The other Doctor raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Anyways, we should go out, get you what you need to get settled in. I just gotta get changed, then we can leave. Check out the room if you'd like."

Being around him brought out so many intense, conflicting emotions in her, it was a relief to have a moment to herself. She slipped out of her saving the world clothes and changed into jeans, a purple t-shirt and a light blue hoodie. Rose looked around the room, noticing it in a way she hadn't when she'd been focused on finding the Doctor. It looked like a showroom. There was nothing personal up on the walls, no quirky bits of furniture, nothing to suggest that anyone lived here at all. "Never thought I'd be settling down here," she said aloud to herself. Even to her it sounded like an excuse. She'd had years here, and all this time she hadn't really been living. Her old room at the Powell estate had been painted bright pink, filled with things she'd loved. It hadn't been fancy, but at least it had been her. None of these silly little things had seemed important when she was with the Doctor. Rose had tasted adventure, she'd saved people – in the process had she started to feel better than them?

Now her head was starting to hurt. Maybe being alone wasn't any better after all. Rose came out of the room and found the other Doctor leaned up against a wall, staring off into space. "Ready?" Rose asked, calling the other Doctor out of his thoughts. "Sure. Where are we going?" "Well I thought we'd start with a clothing shop, get you something fresh to wear – and don't worry, Torchwood's buying," she said, flashing her credit card.

The other Doctor scowled. "Don't you have anything in a blue? Or even a brown pinstripe?" he asked hopefully. The shop girl looked from the other Doctor to Rose seeming mildly perplexed. "Well, we might be able to special order something. Would you like to look at some of our suppliers catalogues?" "Yeah, that'd be very helpful, thanks," Rose replied, holding back her laughter as the other Doctor fussed over his tie.

"Come over here, have a look," Rose urged. "Oh alright," the other Doctor agreed, still dissatisfied with his appearance. Rose amused herself watching his facial expressions as the shop girl scrolled through pages of menswear. All the time with him saying things like, "no, no not quite," or "blimey that's hideous," until, "yes!" "That one sir?" the shop girl asked. "Oh yes!" He turned to Rose. "Do you see this? I'm getting excited about menswear. Is this the human in me or is this just what life is like without the TARDIS?" The shop girl looked more confused than ever. "We'll take three of everything he wants, delivered, and can you put a two day rush on it?" Rose addressed the shop girl. "You're going to have to pick out something they've got here in the mean time." The other Doctor made a face. "Come on, the black one wasn't bad." "Oh alright."

"We'll have to pop back home now," Rose said when they were back out in the street. "Why? We were just there," the other Doctor complained, sounding almost childish." "You've got to put on your new suit. You can't just change in a phone booth," Rose joked. The other Doctor stopped dead in his tracks, grief colonizing his face. "Oh god, I'm sorry, I meant, Superman, I didn't-" "I know," he said quietly. She laid her hand on his arm, and he looked at her, his sadness fading.

"Look! That back lane dead ends. Cover me, I'm going in," the other Doctor announced suddenly, and ran behind a dumpster to change. "You aren't really? Oh my god." Rose laughed and stood guard. A few moments later he reemerged wearing his new clothes. "You tie's a little crooked, let me." Rose approached him. They were so close, again, it was instantly intimate. Her breathing went shaky and her heart was racing. She focused on his tie, even as she felt him looking down on her.

"There you go, all finished," Rose said, taking two big steps backward. "Rose, I-" "What do you want to do now?" she interrupted, attempting to keep things casual. "Honestly I'm kind of hungry. This human body just keeps needing to be fed." "We could get chips," Rose suggested, hoping he would remember. The other Doctor grinned. "Okay, but you're buying." "Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't have any money."

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_I know this is a lot of establishing things so far, I promise the next story will have a little bit of adventure - and probably be a bit longer - I just want to make sure to lay some good groundwork! Thanks for bearing with me :)_


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry that it took so long for me to post another chapter. I know how frustrating it is waiting for the next installment of a story you are enjoying! I am working as a writer right now, and sadly I have to put my paid work first sometimes - bills and all. Thanks for sticking with it, and I hope this chapter is worth the wait.

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**Chapter Four**

"Are you nervous?" Rose asked as the car crawled through traffic. "Ehh," the other Doctor replied. "Excited?" "Oh yes. I'm curious to see what your Torchwood has gotten up to. Jack's has been... interesting." "Jack's always interesting," Rose answered in her low, teasing voice. "Well that's true. Although he's been different since you... brought him back. He's changed." "What do you mean?" "Well, he went back in time you know? Trying to get to your time, to find me, but he overshot it. He lived a long time on earth without aging. Lifetimes. He's lost people. That's the curse of a long life Rose, watching everyone you love go." Rose could tell he wasn't talking about Jack anymore.

"Miss Tyler? We've arrived," the driver announced. "Let's go then." Rose and the other Doctor stepped out of the car and she led the way into the Torchwood building. "We're the last one. The other branches all got destroyed in the cybermen attacks and never rebuilt." "That's probably for the best," the other Doctor replied. Rose was inclined to agree with him. "Your card mum," a Torchwood employee said as the approached the front desk. She handed Rose a card which she clipped to her shirt. "Your guest will need one too," the woman said, eyeing the other Doctor. "He's-" she hesitated, "the Doctor. He's with me. Full access," Rose instructed. "Doctor...?" "Just the Doctor thanks," he said with a grin. "Did you see that Rose? They don't know me. I'm new here, in this world. It's exciting. Although, I wonder how Torchwood was formed, if not in response to me..." he trailed off. Rose just shook her head. "Come on."

Rose led the other Doctor through the halls, up the lift and into Pete Tyler's office. Everywhere she went everyone showed her the utmost respect. "Reporting for duty, Mr. Tyler," Rose said with mock formality. Pete smiled. "Rose, and the Doctor. You decided to come in today. Wonderful. I've been looking forward to working with you again Doctor." "I hope the feeling will be mutual." Pete looked at him oddly, but didn't respond. "Come. I'll show you around, give you the tour."

"This level is the top of the building, just my office, and some classified files." "If this is the top floor where do those stairs lead?" "Ah yes. To my heliport on the roof." The other Doctor looked at Rose, who just shrugged.

"Going down. I try to avoid using the lift if I'm not in a rush. Got to keep fit, never know when you might need to run for your life, eh Doctor?" he chuckled. The years running Torchwood had changed Pete. It seemed to Rose that in the time she'd known him he'd seemed to become less sure of himself the more power he accrued and the more alien threats he responded to. She supposed life had just been simpler during the cybermen wars.

"This level is our computerized information centre. Everything is catalogued and monitored by these good people. If it's alien, we know about it." The other Doctor looked thoughtful. "I've been wondering. No on here seems to know me, or know any version of the Doctor. With all the resources of Torchwood, you must know... Is there a Doctor in this world? Do I exist here?" The other Doctor was speaking to Pete, but Rose answered. "No. I looked. I checked every database, used every resource available to us. No mention of the Doctor or the time lords anywhere in this earth's history. If Gallifrey exists, if you exist, you never came here." The other Doctor took a moment to absorb this. "Ah. Well, I had wondered," he said lightly, but Rose could tell the news sat heavily with him.

Pete led them through the training area, the intake area and down to the basement level one, where alien artifacts were stored. "Predominantly, we store these items to keep them out of human hands. Some of them are quite dangerous, others-" "Dangerous? You call this dangerous?" The other Doctor had pulled a nightmarish statue of a four legged, horned beast with three green tentacle-like tongues and glowing red eyes. He gently stroked it's forehead between the eyes and curved, thin beams popped out from it's feet. The other Doctor sat on it, moving back and forth. "It's a rocking horse!" Rose exclaimed. "Well, technically a rocking Pack Bagoth, but essentially yeah." He turned to Pete. "Popular in Gundinian nurseries." "As I was trying to say, some of the items are here simply because we are unfamiliar with them and wish to learn more." Pete looked cross, but an eager looking young woman was busily copying down what the other Doctor had said and sticking a new label on the toy.

"Hello, who are you then?" the other Doctor asked. "Hello, I'm Heidi, the intern." "Hell Heidi the intern." He smiled and waved. "I'm sorry, but you seem to know so much, I was wondering about the glowing eyes. I've only been here a week, so of course I haven't had a chance to run tests on everything. I've mostly been getting myself acquainted with the inventory, but I've looked at this one. The eyes aren't back lit in any way, that's obvious, it's the stones themselves that are glowing, which I figure must mean radiation of some kind." The other Doctor grinned. "Did you hear that? She's clever. I like clever." The intern blushed, and Rose felt a twinge of jealousy. "You're right. They're called Shykta gems, harvested from the radiation pits of Muldoon on Gundinia. Don't worry though, perfectly harmless. They emit no more radiation than a common light bulb." Heidi smiled and scribbled this down. Rose frowned, a little ashamed at her own envy. Pete came to the rescue. "Doctor, if you could get off that... toy, and start acting like a grown man, we can continue the tour." "Oi, watch it earth boy," the other Doctor said grumpily. Rose laughed, obviously there was a piece of Donna left in there.

"Mr. Tyler?" A voice came over Pete's radio. "Yes?" "The field team just brought in a live one. You're going to want to see this. We're taking it down to the holding cells now." "Holding cells? I don't like the sound of that," the other Doctor said. They followed Pete Tyler, who had taken off for the stairs at a jog, heading down to a lower level.

Three Torchwood operatives dressed in body armour wrestled a thrashing alien into a cell as it tried its best to maim them. The other Doctor looked on in horror. "What are you doing? What right do you have? Are you running a gaol for aliens?" The doctor sounded furious, but Pete ignored him, talking quickly with the operatives once they had locked the creature up. "Rose," the other Doctor appealed, a feeling of powerlessness evident in his voice. "Just wait, we'll see what's happening."

"Do you know what it is Doctor?" Pete inquired, dismissing the others. "No," the other Doctor admitted, approaching the cage where the alien had finally stopped thrashing and was now pacing endlessly and growling. "My agents responded to a call. This thing was found running through the streets of London, terrorizing and attaching the morning commute. I swear to you we don't have any ill intentions, we just needed to contain the threat." The other Doctor regarded Pete skeptically for a moment, then turned to the creature and put on his glasses. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. What are you?" He turned to Rose. "It's kind of exciting you know, new universe? This species may not even exist in the other world. So many things are completely new to me now." Rose smiled. "What can you tell about it Doctor? Is it going to hurt us? It doesn't seem like the other aliens we've met, it seems like sort of... an animal." "I think you're right about that. Without the TARDIS to translate, it's hard to say, but I don't think this creature has any language."

The other Doctor walked right up to the cell. The creature slammed against the bars, causing Rose and her father both to jump back. The other Doctor didn't even flinch. He reached out towards the creature, who leaned forward, sniffing the other Doctor tentatively. The other Doctor slowly, carefully laid his hand on the side of the creature's face. He closed his eyes. For a long moment everything was quiet. Then they broke apart. "He's scared, confused, lost. He's looking for something." Rose watched the alien carefully. It had settled down a lot since the other Doctor had touched its mind, but it was still pacing. "Doctor, there's something on his neck. Under the fur, do you see it?" "Yeah..." "You don't think?" "Yes! Of course, wandering around, lost, confused, lashing out, looking for some_one_." In one fluid movement he snatched the keys from Pete, opened the door and got into the cell with the creature. Before Pete could even protest, the other Doctor had approached the creature and parted its fur, revealing a collar. "And look; it's got a tracker."

"It's like a great, big lost space dog!" Rose exclaimed. "Oh yes. And someone's going to come looking for him." "We've got to get him out of here." "Out of London if possible." "Slow down you two, we have procedures in place," Pete interjected. "Sorry. Can't slow down, you'll have to keep up or get left behind," the other Doctor said plainly. "Let's get him out of here." Rose stood at the ready as the other Doctor coaxed the creature out of the cage. Pete looked ambivalent, struggling to make up his mind. "I'll have a car brought round," he said finally. "There you go!" the other Doctor congratulated him as he got on the radio. "Come on there's a back way," Pete explained, and they led the creature out.

They didn't have too much trouble until they needed to get the creature into the car. It seemed quite unwilling, so Rose climbed in first and offered it a hand. The creature whimpered and then took her hand and climbed in. "That's right," Rose said soothingly. The men followed her, and Pete began to drive.

"The flashing light there, the tracker?" Rose whispered to the other Doctor. "Yeah?" "It's blinking faster." "Yeah. I think that means they're getting closer. Whoever is looking for this big guy." "Dad?" "Yes, Rose?" "Step on it."

They reached an empty farmer's field and pulled over. The creature jumped out of the car as soon as they opened the door. "What now?" Rose wondered aloud. "Now we wait."

They didn't have to wait long. Within twenty minutes a small, unmistakable space craft landed in the field. A girl stepped out, followed by a pair who seemed to be her parents. "Bronkild!" the girl cried, and the creature ran to her, jumping up on her and knocking her to the ground in his excitement. The aliens approached them and started speaking a language that Rose couldn't even begin to understand. The other Doctor seemed to know it though, he spoke with them for several minutes. At one point they turned to Rose and Pete, saying something. "They're thanking you," the other Doctor explained. "Tell 'em they're welcome." A few minutes later they climbed into their spaceship and flew away.

"When did this become my average day?" Pete murmured to himself as they got back in the car. "Lovely family," the other Doctor told them. "They were vacationing here. Their pet, Bronkild, heard a loud noise in the night and ran off. They tried to track him, but they didn't just want to land in the middle of a population centre to reclaim him. Apparently this planet was rated 'moderate' in its hostility towards alien life in their guide book." "We're in alien tourist guides?" Rose asked incredulously. "Oh yeah," the other Doctor replied happily. "Hey Rose, they were blue." Rose looked at him. "You remember our first trip. You saw a blue alien for the first time?" "Yeah, I remember," Rose answered miserably. "Come a long way haven't you?" "Yeah, I have," she replied with forced cheerfulness.

Rose knew it wasn't his intention, but when he brought up old memories, they were still bittersweet for her. It hurt. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to replace her _real _Doctor, and the even worse feeling that it was working.


End file.
